Chinese food healthy?

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CadenceAlex

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My husband and my 1 year old daughter love chinese food.. they are both eating chicken chow mein right now, but is it ok for her to be eating so young?

Is it fatty? Salty? Chinese babies must eat it, right?
 
Is this takeaway chinese or home made? Takeaways often contain a lot of MSG which can be unpleasant and the other problem is you have no way of monitoring the salt levels.
If she loves it that much then it's fairly easy to make yourself, that way you can keep an eye on the salt, make sure you use lean chicken or even turkey and you can put extra fresh veg in it to make it healthier.
 
It's takeaway Chinese, I just tasted a bit and its very nice but it has lots of flavour... I know you have to be really careful though with kids and salt which is why I posted.
 
Lots of msg, salt and fat Im afraid. What we know as chinese food is not the same as the chinese diet!! How many obese chinese do you see? not that many, however if you ate nothing but take aways you would be pretty large!!!

I believe in everything in moderation- so once in a while as a treat is o.k-don't be too hard on yourself.
 
I was bought up on Chinese food as my parents own a chinese restaurant and my mum does all the cooking! So I guess with my mum knowing what she is putting into the food etc its ok, but then when you get take aways there will be alot of salt and flavouring etc.

I hardly eat chinese now though, only when I see my mum! So thats ok with me!!!!
 
Thanks ladies!

She'll be back on veg and meat over the weekend and will do without a bag of Wotsits tomorrow, which we get her at weekends! Have told her dad nicely why she can't eat what he eats - men just love to spoil kids though don't they?
 
A lot of Chinese restaurants use MSG and it's pretty nasty stuff. i can't eat Chinese from out locals anymore, apart from one, as all of them have so much MSG it brings on vertigo which is horrible (in fact it's often referred to as Chinese restaurant syndrome). However the lovely geeky Flower has been teaching me how to cook Chinese the proper way so i can make my own and it is VERY healthy if you cook it yourself.

If you google monosodiumglutamate you will see what I'm on about. It's banned in baby food in many countries.
 
urgh but interesting

cheaper and healthier to make our own... but I wouldn't know where to begin!
 
Easy Peasy! Just experiment!
Cut chicken breast into cubes, put some oil in wok and heat on high. put chicken in and douse with soy sauce. Keep stirring all the time. When cooked put in bowl.
Add a Little oil to wok and fry what you want veggie wise, eg pack of fresh stir fry veg, or onions, or mushrooms, etc , frying individually if there is more than one veg you have prepared, as the secret with Chinese cooking is to cook quickly (I believe this is because wood and fuel were traditionally in short supply in china)
When these cooked (stir fry veg doesn't take long, keep this crunchy), add any already cooked veg, eg tin of drained corn, pineapple rings cut into cubes, etc to pan. Allow to warm through and then add chicken back in.
Have ready prepared 1/2 mug hot water with 1/2 veg or chicken Knorr cube and another 1/2 mug cold water with about 2 level desert spoons of cornflower mixed in with some soy soy added. Add stock and then cornflower mix, stirring all the time until thickened around your tasty dinner. Serve with rice, noodles, etc.
Suggested combos using chicken-
onions and mushrooms
onions, pineapple (use pineapple juice from tin - not syrup!- instead of the water with the cornflower
stir fry prepack of veggies - you can get lots of different kinds

With a baby you probably want to go easy on the salty soy sauce and the salty stock cube. You could easily prepare everything and cook the little one's dinner separately, then cook yours and hubby's using the soy sauce and stock. Just wipe out pan after baby's is cooked with kitchen roll - no need to wash it.
Have a try with different combos and different meats. I always cook the meat first and always on its own to make sure it is cooked thoroughly but quickly.
Hope you enjoy!
 
I was bought up on Chinese food as my parents own a chinese restaurant and my mum does all the cooking! So I guess with my mum knowing what she is putting into the food etc its ok, but then when you get take aways there will be alot of salt and flavouring etc.

I hardly eat chinese now though, only when I see my mum! So thats ok with me!!!!

Oh yum, can I come to your mums with you please?!:lick:
 
I think a little of what we like thats not so good for us is fine...its all in moderation...i look forward to a take out once in while....i suppose its just those who life on take outs that need to worry....its like anything really...all in moderation.
 
chinese home cooking food is healthy.....

chinese take away food is not....
 
chinese home cooking food is healthy.....

chinese take away food is not....

DO you fancy sharing some of your Chinese home cooking recipes? I would love to learn how to make authentic Chinese food
KxXx
 
DO you fancy sharing some of your Chinese home cooking recipes? I would love to learn how to make authentic Chinese food
KxXx

have pm-ed you... :hug:
 
Lol,it's the chips ,fried rice and prawn crackers you HAVE to have with the chow mein that's unhealthy :lol:
 
I absolutely love chinese food. I am aware of the msg thing but my 5 year old has the appetite of a mouse.

When i see her tucking into noodles, rice, beef in oyster sauce it gives me so much pleasure that shes' actually eating.

The chinese take away that I use adds lots of pak choi, baby corn, mushrooms etc to their dishes and I'm happy with that. Thai food (without the chillies for my little one) has a very clean taste too and seems to be full of lots of veggies.

I think as said before moderation is the key!

teri x:hug:
 
On the scale of 'unhealthyness' of takeaways, Chinese isn't too bad..... It's less fattening than Indian or Fish and Chips if you stick to boiled rice and stay away from anything deep fried.

Tbh, it's great that you're concerned but unless it's really often she's eating it I wouldn't worry too much. Be glad she's willing to try new things and enjoy them, and keep encouraging her to eat a wide variety of foods.....
 
oohhh lets start a chinese recipe page.. yummy yummy.. i still have not found shredded smoked chicken recipe that is easy hheelllppp
 

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